The present invention generally relates to aircraft passenger seats. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to systems, methods, and apparatuses for reorienting and/or reconfiguring a certified aircraft seat.
Passenger aircraft cabins are traditionally designed such that most passenger seats are arranged and fixed in a forward facing orientation (i.e., facing the direction of travel). Thus, passengers, whether traveling individually or in groups are seated facing forward and viewing the back of the seat directly in front of them. In such an seating arrangement, most passengers spend the duration of the flight in individual activities and rarely in collective or collaborative pursuits. For example, many passengers may spend the duration of the flight time sleeping, reading, watching videos, or playing games by themselves. Even when passengers travel in groups of two or more, conversation can be difficult because the forward facing seats make face-to-face discussions difficult. Further, passengers traveling in larger groups may be split between multiple rows of a passenger aircraft, thereby making conversations or meetings practically impossible between passengers seated in separate rows. Moreover, current U.S. Federal Aviation Administration regulations limit the ability for passengers to congregate in the aisles of the airplane during flight.
In light of the above, it would be desirable to provide improved systems, methods and apparatuses for reorienting and/or reconfiguring a certified aircraft seat so as to facilitate group traveling. In particular, improvements can be made to provide for a passenger seat which may be reoriented from a forward facing seat to a rearward facing seat so that passengers in groups may face one another during travel.